John-- You're right, that does make sense. Especially if there might have been some plaster molds made of his face--that provides a plausible reason for the shirtlessness. Billy Idol, Sting, and countless other rockers have no such excuse. --LH On Sep 3, 2010, at 8:48 AM, John Bird wrote: > I think it was taken in 1884. Although Justin Kaplan said it was > "almost > surely a joke," I recently ran across a compelling idea I had never > seen > before. In a dissertation on Twain and the pictorial, the writer at > Duke > (don't have my notes with me to give credit) offers, via his > dissertation > director Lou Budd, that the picture was taken as a study for > Gerhardt's > bust, which was made in 1884 for the frontispiece of Huck Finn. > When you > look at the picture and the bust together, that idea makes perfect > sense. I > am convinced that the picture was not a joke, but a musculature > study for > Gerhardt's statue. > > John Bird > Winthrop University > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Larry > Howe > Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 9:34 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Picture date? > > Forum-- > > I'm sure someone here knows the date of the famous shirtless Twain > photo? No prizes, just my gratitude. > > Thanks, > > --LH